“We are in a new phase of weaker world trade” Constancio said in a press conference. “If, on top of that, there would be a wave of protectionist measures, world trade, and world growth would suffer.” The ECB vice president confirmed that the despite the risk build-up, the ECB still sees euro-area growth around 1.6 percent in 2017, with inflation rising to about 1.25 percent in the spring. Even so, he stressed that some of the region’s lenders remain weak and need to continue addressing excessive costs and a high burden of non-performing loans. “Vulnerabilities remain significant for euro-area banks,” the central bank said in its report. “Profitability prospects overall remain low across the euro area in a subdued economic growth environment.”
Euro is currently being traded around 1.0560 level. Pair is likely to find support around 1.05 handle and resistance above 1.06 area.
